Mozart in Naples
By Michael Pearl

Pro Musica Concert
Mozart arias, Neapolitan songs
Sat–Sun, Jan 24–25, 5pm
St Paul’s Church
Cardo 6
200/150/80 pesos

This weekend, Pro Musica presents concerts of Mozart arias and famous Neapolitan songs performed by candlelight and in period costume. At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that there is no connection between the great composer and the city’s renowned romantic ballads. However, when one looks deeper this turns out not to be the case.

Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756, but he was the first truly pan-European composer. He traveled widely, composed operas and songs in Italian and worked in many courts throughout the continent of Europe. He had a particular love of Italy and its language, and he spent a considerable amount of time there, including in Naples. Many of his most famous operas are sung in Italian, including The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, from both of which we will hear arias on Sunday night.

In 1769 and 1770, Mozart and his father, Leopold, undertook a punishing concert tour of Italian cities. The astonishing child prodigy charmed audiences wherever he went, and he worked “on the move,” composing, finishing and copying in the evening what had been jostlingly scrawled in the carriage by day.

Mozart nearly did not make it to Naples at all. His journey from Rome was delayed for weeks by reports of marauding brigands on the road. When they finally reached the city they stayed nearly two months, taking in Pompeii, Herculaneum and some excursions along the coast. It was on this trip that he wrote the opera Mitridate. Mozart was used to the formalities of the courts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he found the swirling maelstrom of humanity that was Naples not always to his liking, saying, “As regards the impertinence of the rabble, I am not sure that Naples does not outdo London....”

Mozart thus experienced many national styles and local traditions on his travels, out of which emerged his unique cosmopolitan style. A universality appears in his compositions, the operas in particular. A good example is Don Giovanni and the theme of damnation in exchange for worldly pleasures. It is no coincidence that the action is set in a Venice whose imperial splendor was fading by then into corrupt decadence.

So what do 19th-century Neapolitan songs have in common with Mozart’s arias? Mozart was a revolutionary, and he revelled in exposing the hypocrisy of the aristocracy. In the Marriage of Figaro, the love between Figaro, the count’s butler, and Suzanna, the countess’s maid, triumphs over the feudal privileges of their employers. It is a celebration of the omnipotence of the human heart at the expense of the organized state.

So it is with the Neapolitan songs of a century later, which embody the yearning of the individual for love, home and family, as told through the simple stories of ordinary folk. They deal with boatmen, travelers or lovers; you will hear nothing of kings or grand events being praised in these sentimental pieces. Mozart would have approved of this celebration of the common man and woman.

On Saturday the program opens with the full overture to The Marriage of Figaro to set the tone of the weekend. The rest of that day’s program is devoted to the famous Neapolitan songs that have inspired generations of travelers to seek out that great city, including the immortal “Santa Lucia,” the high-spirited “Funiculí Funiculá,” the popular “O Sole Mio!” and many more.

On Sunday, half of the program consists of arias from Mozart’s operas The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute and concert arias. For the other half we return again to Naples with another selection of heart-rending songs such “Torna a Surriento” and “Core Ingrato.” Don’t miss these enchanting evenings of costume, candlelight and canciones.

Biblioteca Concerts

Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A

Antonio Cabrero Mendoza
Wed, Jan 28, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
100 pesos

Sergio Basurto
Mon, Jan 26, 7:30pm
Thu, Jan 29, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
150 pesos


Javier Estrada
Fri, Jan 23, 7pm
Fri, Jan 30, 7pm
Sala Quetzal
100 pesos


Junta Flamenca
Anís and Yerbabuena 
Sat, Jan 24, 5pm
Sat, Jan 31, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
200 pesos


Xavier Hernández & Liliana Gutiérrez
Sun, Jan 25, 2:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
80 pesos

These outstanding concerts are part of the Biblioteca Pública’s cultural program. Tickets are available at the theater box office. For concerts at 7pm or after, enter through the Café Santa Ana entrance at Reloj 50A. Seating is limited for Sala Quetzal events.

Piano concert

Pianist Antonio Cabrero has a flair for combining his classical training with traditional jazz and his own exotic inspirations. He delighted San Miguel audiences twice this December. Cabrero is known throughout Mexico as a symphony conductor, but his piano concerts have assumed new relevance in recent years, due to his passion for improvising over jazz standards and music from Spain, Mexico and India.

Part of the program is a Gershwin medley. Then he takes to the flamenco music of Spain and Manuel de Falla, then back to Mexico with Huapango by Pablo Moncayo.

Folklore harp and flamenco guitar
By Gaby Servin

The talented Sergio Basurto Valencia presents two concerts combining his extensive knowledge of Latin American rhythms with his repertoire of flamenco rhythms and toques.

Born in Mexico City, Basurto learned to play the Mexican harp from distinguished folklore musicians and further acquired Paraguayan harp techniques and many others from South American countries.

Basurto is enjoys playing for audiences unfamiliar with this music. He also is dedicated to fostering appreciation of the folk harp and teaches it to enthusiastic musicians who want to try it.

Basurto plays melodies from Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Paraguay and Brazil, then turns to his guitar and plays the flamenco rhythms introduced by the Spanish during the colonial epoch. He lets us know how these rhythms are at the core and essence of the Latin American melodies, though softened by the different nature of the musicians.

Gypsy music night

Guitarist Javier Estrada sings and plays noche de fiesta gitana, the enchanting music from the south. His light touch across the strings and the melodies of the gypsies set an intimate mood.

Flamenco comrades in battle
By Angela García

Dance academies often overlook the fact that flamenco dance is inextricably linked to flamenco music. Underneath all the dazzling aesthetics, cante and guitar, the dancer and the song are comrades in battle. To love flamenco dance is to love flamenco music. And before you get down to heel, toe and sole, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the sound that gives meaning to those steps. 

Most of the songs form part of a timeless folk tradition. Start by browsing through the first collection of flamenco lyrics, put together by Demófilo in 1881, although almost any cante flamenco album is a valid source, especially if the liner notes include a lyric sheet.

Cantaores who currently accompany the leading figures of flamenco dance offer a refreshing selection of discs. Guadiana, a cantaor from Extremadura, is a regular collaborator with the Antonio Canales Company, as well as the songwriter for much of his music. His latest album, Brillo de luna, is a fine example.

“Latin Soul” Winter Concert 

Tenor Xavier Hernández and pianist Liliana Gutiérrez perform in the Sunday Matinee Concert Series in a unique presentation January 25. Hernández, who also is a skilled flautist and his wife Liliana are a remarkable pair of musicians who direct the Children’s Choir Kantaré at the Biblioteca Pública along with the community choir Voces Unidas and the St. Paul’s Church Choir. These groups present several concerts throughout the year and their Christmas concert is now a holiday tradition.Their program will feature Latin American themes with pieces by Astor Piazolla, Manuel M. Ponce, María Grever and others. Last year’s concerts were a stunning success.